August events to support refugees in visa limbo

A SERIES of events to be held through August will turn the spotlight on the visa limbo still facing thousands of asylum seekers and refugees across the country, raising funds and awareness for those battling uncertainty close to home.

The new-look Jam for Refugees will present a varied program of four Sunday afternoon events next month, each raising funds to support the efforts of the Combined Refugee Action Group (CRAG), whose volunteers help asylum seekers through the costly and complex process of applying for visas.

The fundraising initiative, launched more than eight years ago by Terence Norman, has previously taken the form of a single 10-hour concert, but has this year been revitalised with a new format aimed at appealing to a broader audience.

Baroque flutist Greg Dikmans will start the series on August 10 at the All Saints Anglican Church in Newtown. There, he will present an intimate concert with the support of Samantha Cohen on the therorbo, a stringed instrument from the lute family, and the Elysium Ensemble.

Norman himself will follow on August 17 at the Sacred Heart College Chapel, where he will perform the music of three composers – Bach, Handel and Domenico Scarlatti – each of whom were born in 1685. Some of the funds raised at this event will also support the school’s refugee scholarship fund.

On August 24, local author Judy Rankin will share insights into her practice, inspiration and how to get published at St Peter’s Anglican Church in Ocean Grove, before Geelong Salsa round out the series with a salsa dance event at Portarlington’s Parks Hall on August 31.

“These are four really special events. It’s inexpensive and I think it’s a really important cause to get behind,” Norman said. “It’s an important part of being humans that we try to help those people who are very vulnerable.”

 

 

He said the plight of refugees, both at home and abroad, is one that is easy to “close our minds to”.

“Yet it does exist, and it exists right within the Geelong community. We need to do something about it; there’s a pressing need.”

Co-convenor Peter Coghlan said the annual fundraiser was a primary source of funding for the group, allowing it to continue representing and advocating for asylum seekers and refugees. Recent success has reaffirmed the importance of this work.

“We’ve had a number who’ve actually gone right through the system, got permanent residency, waited the required time and are now officially Australian citizens.

“That’s what we’re aiming for with all of them, but some, even though they’ve been here 10, 11, 12, even 13 years, they’re still waiting for decisions to be made about whether they can stay here and that has a terribly adverse effect on their mental and physical health.”

Most, he said, also live with the fear of being returned to a country where they’ll face persecution.

“All the people we come across here, whether they’re Sri Lankan Tamils or they’re Afghans or they’re Syrians, they’re all people who are trying to make a life here, and…they’re an asset to the country.”

CRAG receives no government funding and does not seek government grants, a practice it says ensures it retains both integrity and the freedom to fight for those it serves.

For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit events.humanitix.com/host/jam-for-refugees